The office of the President of Mongolia, Public Relations & Communications Division

www.president.mn

2009-09-14

President Elbegdorj Tsakhia Meets Mongolian Students in India

President of Mongolia Elbegdorj Tsakhia, meets with delegation of Mongolian students in Republic of India, on the first day of his State visit.

Over 500 hundred Mongolian citizens are currently residing in Republic of India, of which 300 hundred are university and college students with about 100 of them in the city of Delhi. Mongolian students are studying in India’s world famous universities and colleges, majoring in information technology, management, political science, and English. In addition, as Ambassador of Mongolia to Republic of India H. E. Enkhbold addresses, there are over 30 students granted with scholarship of Government of India annually to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies.

Following the introduction, President Elbegdorj conversed briefly about the goal of his visit, and Presidential Policy and Action Plan, which was recently passed. “It is not a coincident that my first state visit is to Republic of India, the biggest democracy in Asia,” President stated. He expressed his belief on high political significance of the visit, and said Mongol-Indian bilateral relation is developing successfully in every circle, which is illustrated in the academic field.

President Elbegdorj also supported choice of Mongolian students preferring India as their top destination to acquire world-class education, and heeded the increasing number of students. “India is a big power, and even as a developing country, it is one of the moving forces of global economic development in 21st century. Thus, I ask of you to pay attention to achievements and technical innovation whilst in this country, and share the knowledge you have gained with your fellow students. Today our country is in great need for engineers in information technology and mining. Your devotion to your country is irreplaceable for her development,” he added.

During the meeting, students had opportunity to ask questions of their interest and receive answers from President himself, and other members of the delegation. Students inquired on his experience as a student at Harvard, how he paved his way to the world famous university, his plans to support Mongolian students studying abroad, and exchanged views on options to apply information technology to public service in order for citizens to receive it without delay.

MONGOL-INDIAN CULTURAL AND ACADEMIC EXCHANGE

Since 1987, following the framework of ITEC (India Technical and Economic Cooperation), each year, over 50 specialists of variety of fields, have attended short and long-term courses in Republic of India. Government of India has granted an aide of 1 million USD for the purpose to build facility to re-train IT specialists in Ulaanbaatar city, and establish local information centers in 5 aimags.

Currently there are over 300 hundred universities, 3.000 colleges, and about 200.000 secondary schools in Republic of India, which is considered to have one of the strictest requirements for higher education, with an equally high rate of tuition. Quality of graduates is considered one of the best among developing countries.

Government of India pays special attention to scientific development, as it ranks 3rd in the world by the number of researchers. High achievements were acquired in the fields of nuclear science, space studies, and information technology.